Windswept and wonderful – Winter in Northern Ireland
As Game of Thrones® portrays, Northern Ireland can look its very best in Winter with ice blue skies, clouds racing across the flanks of hills and mountains and an ink-blue sea tearing at the rocks. No better time then, perhaps, to visit the multiple filming locations for this blockbuster series.
The stark, brooding beauty of the Dark Hedges at Ballymoney, Co Antrim are thrown into sharpest relief in Winter, while across in Castle Ward Demense in Co Down, the castle that stood in for Winterfell looks its best when the distant Mournes are dusted in ice and snow.
There are any number of tours of the film locations available, including a self-drive tour which includes B&B overnight accommodation along the multiple set locations that stretch from Belfast to Derry-Londonderry.
For many if not most people, Christmas is the highlight of the winter season and what better way to soak it all up than a visit to Belfast and it’s Christmas market in the grounds of City Hall. Amongst the Christmas lights and jumpers, you’ll find seasonal food from all corners of the globe, a massive beer tent, eclectic craft gifts and an atmosphere like nothing else. It’s a good stopping off point if you’re also shopping elsewhere like Victoria Square or Castlecourt.
Spring in Northern Ireland
There’s nothing better to put a spring in your step in Northern Ireland than a visit to one or more of our parks, gardens and estates. Not only will you find plenty of new growth, but you’ll also find plenty to do while you’re at it.
In Belfast you’ll find the Botanic Gardens with its wonderful Victorian steel and glass tropical glasshouses and linear beds just bursting with bulbs and flowers of all colours, shapes and sizes. You’ll also find a children’s playground, bowling green, and if you’re lucky, a band recital or opera performance.
Summer is for the seaside in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland and the seaside just go together. Like buckets and spades or ice cream and cones. Luckily, Northern Ireland’s coastal towns have some of Europe’s best beaches.
The pretty seaside town of Portrush has three magnificent beaches to choose from. West Strand Beach and East Strand Beach are big draws for families and also welcome surfers, paddle-boarders and kayakers, while Whiterocks Beach is a hotspot for surfers and bodyboarders whose numbers swell during surfing season. If you feel like joining them, just ask at Troggs, one of Europe’s leading surf and sea adventure stores.
A little along the coast you’ll find Portstewart Strand, all two miles of it, complete with a sand dune nature reserve. You could spend the day here just walking and watching the kite-surfers working the waves back and forth.
Across on the Irish Sea, with the magical Mourne Mountains as a backdrop, Newcastle’s beach is in a pretty spectacular location. This is the ‘Narnia’ land that inspired Belfast-born C.S. Lewis to open that wardrobe. The blue flag Murlough Beach is just a skimming stone’s throw away. As is the Murlough National Nature Reserve, a 6,000 years old sand dune system and a paradise for walkers and birdwatchers.
There’s more than beaches in Northern Ireland, there Let’s Go Hydro too.
Not far from Belfast itself you’ll find this water-themed adventure park, Let's Go Hydro. Glamping is just the start of it. If you, or someone you know, is a water baby at heart, they’ll be in their element here. Wakeboarding, kayaking, open water swimming, aqua-parking - it’s luxury glamping, with a whole lot of action thrown in.
Summer is peak festival season here and Belsonic in Belfast’s Ormeau Park in June, and Sunflowerfest in July in Royal Hillsborough (Co. Down) are just two of the best music festivals you’ll find here. Buy tickets in advance though!
Fall for Northern Ireland in the Autumn
As the days shorten and a little chill steals into the evenings, something magic begins to happen in this special land. Our coastline becomes even more dramatic as the shadows lengthen under the Causeway Coast cliffs, mist hugs the valleys of the Mourne Mountains, haze clears to reveal a blanket of stars above the Sperrins and the trees in our multitude of forest parks turn bronze and gold.
If you’ve packed your hiking boots, you could take a trek up Northern Ireland’s highest mountain, Slieve Donard. Especially when you know you’ve got a night at the Slieve Donard Resort & Spa (4*) ahead of you. There are self-catering options too at the nearby Hillyard Mews (4*) and Waterfoot Apartments (4*).
Elsewhere, there is the brilliant Causeway Coast Way, 33 miles of dramatic sea cliffs and views from Portstewart to Ballycastle. Along the way you’ll go through several Areas of Special Scientific Interest, the UNESCO World Heritage Site at the Giant’s Causeway, the Instagram-able and iconic Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge and the spectacular ruins of Dunluce Castle looming up over crashing waves. As the Summer crowds thin, this is possibly the best time of year to walk some or all of this memorable route.
If it’s creative refreshment you’re after, then make for Belfast in October and the Belfast International Arts Festival. This is Northern Ireland’s biggest arts festival and is an unrivalled gathering together and celebration of local and international theatre, literature, performance art, visual art, dance and music.
There’s a lot going on and with so many places to go and see in Northern Ireland, all year round, come and see it all for yourself – anytime suits us!
When the temperature starts to drop, the leaves begin to fall and the salty sea breeze beckons you outdoors, it's time to plan an invigorating walk which ends in a cosy seat by the fire and your favourite tipple in hand. Here's our suggestions of where to go...
